


crazy little thing called love

by notsaoirseronan



Category: That '70s Show
Genre: Getting Together, Kinda, M/M, Rated Teen for (very) mild swearing, Reunions, buddy speaks french, but I don't, but it's basically just if buddy came back in season 2, idk how to tag this, no beta we die like men
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-10
Updated: 2020-12-10
Packaged: 2021-03-10 06:22:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,511
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27999690
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/notsaoirseronan/pseuds/notsaoirseronan
Summary: Buddy kissed Eric, Eric had a panic, Eric solved the panic, and Buddy was gone.He'd forgotten all about it, almost entirely about Buddy, until he was back in Chemistry as casual as always.Title is from the Queen song with the same name.
Relationships: Eric Forman/Buddy Morgan
Kudos: 52





	crazy little thing called love

**Author's Note:**

> Did I illegally stream this episode so I could remember small details? Yes. Do I have an English test tomorrow? Yes.

_Lips on lips. It took Eric by surprise, and even though it lasted for barely a second, he knew that he would remember that moment vividly for the foreseeable future. he pulled back in shock. Exclaiming noises that were barely comprehensible to the English language._

_"You-you're gay!" Eric exclaimed. It sounded like he was disgusted. Mainly because he hadn't really grasped the difference between disgust and shock yet. Subconsiously, he regretted breaking the kiss. Had it lasted for half a second later, he almost certainly would've had a different reaction._

_"No, I'm not gay"_

_"You just kissed me!" He was still trying to comprehend the situation. It wasn't going too well._

_"Okay fine I'm gay" Buddy's smile was infectious. There was just something in his eyes that complemented his smile so well. Eric assumed it was just his natural charm._

_Hyde and Donna hadn't been much help with his crisis. They'd just wanted to know all of the gossips about everyone's favourite, Buddy Morgan. That night, Eric didn't sleep at all. He'd liked it when Buddy had kissed him. It had just been too sudden and quick to comprehend. Was he gay? He couldn't be, right? He liked Donna and the way she smelled. But he also liked Buddy._ _He thought about it for so long, he barely noticed the sunrise creeping outside his window._

_He had Chemistry that day. He was almost excited to see Buddy. He wanted to explain how his surprise had come out as disgust, but he was actually happy about it, in some way. He was still confused when he sat down in the back of the class. But he wasn't there. Buddy's seat in front of him was empty, even as the bell rang. Buddy was never late, he was always five minutes early to class, usually reading before it started._

_The confusion stayed in the back of his mind for a few weeks, but he didn't ask anyone. Not really noticing it, Buddy's sudden disappearance crept further and further into the back of his mind until it was a forgettable gnat flying around._

Then he was suddenly back. It had been exactly a year, and there he was, sitting in Chem class, talking to Daisy Morrisson about the latest Bowie album. He threw Eric a half-assed glance before returning his attention to Daisy's rant about Rebel Rebel. Two minutes later, Mr Michael slammed his hands on the table and started talking about carbon.

"Okay, so for this project, you'll work in pairs. How many rows are there? Eight? Ok, Front row, behind you, is your partner, same thing for the third. Pick an element on the periodic table and do a presentation on it. It's due in three weeks. Go get started"

Eric realised quickly that he was paired with Buddy. Again. Even if it wasn't the way he wanted to explain himself to him, it was an opportunity.

They met in the car park, just like last time. Buddy waited for him by the Vista Cruiser, leaning against it.   
"Look, before you say anything, I'm sorry about last year," Buddy said.  
"What? No, that's not- wait, do you think I'm mad at you because of that? Is that why you disappeared?" Eric hoped his nervousness wasn't visible.   
"Yeah, I thought you were mad at me for what happened, but I didn't leave because of it. I did an exchange year in France,"  
"Oh! I thought you were scared of me or something," Eric said, relieved that Buddy hadn't left because of him. "Does this mean you speak french?"

Buddy and he raced back to his place, doing their best to obey the usual traffic laws. Although, Eric was sure he saw Buddy run a stop sign. Eric was terrified of Red Forman, so he made sure to obey the law to a T.   
That didn't stop him from taking shortcuts, though. And he still made it, ten seconds before Buddy pulled into the driveway. They decided to study in the basement, it had fewer distractions.   
  


Or so they thought. 

Eric's friends all came stomping through the door. Not angrily, mind you, just with the normal aggression of teenagers. Fez went straight to the record player, picked out a Zeppelin vinyl and within seconds, Immigrant Song was blasting through the shitty speakers. 

"Guys, we've got company," Eric said loudly, finally getting their attention.  
"Hey, Buddy, man. How was France?" Hyde clapped him on the shoulder before claiming his usual seat.  
"Yeah, are people there as nice as they are here?" Donna followed up.  
"France was nice, and kinda. They were nice, but still rude, y'know like most people," Buddy smiled. Eric liked his smile. He remembered the smile from _that_ night and his mind started spiraling again. 

Thankfully, his friends didn't care enough to note, instead they were having discussions amongst themselves and with Buddy, leaving Eric alone to question his sexuality in peace. Truth be told, they barely noticed, they assumed he spaced out, he did that a lot, and thought it better just to leave him on the couch.

Unfortunately, his crisis was interrupted by a shrill voice.   
"Michael! " Jackie walked through the door. Kelso stood up as if by reflex. "You promised me you'd meet me at the mall. I had to hitch a ride with Stacy Anderson, and she smells _so bad_. I mean, how can you smell that much like salami?"

"I- Buddy's here!" Kelso exclaimed, redirecting her attention.  
"Oh hiiiiiiiiiii! I missed you so much! I can't believe that it's been so long! I didn't even get to tell you about Bram Austin, did you know that he's like, obsessed with Oscar Wilde? Like, I genuinely think he might have a problem,"

Buddy smiled politely, although not caring much about gossip about Bram Austin. There was only so much you could pretend to care about, and the private life of a senior wasn't really in the ballpark. Hell, it couldn't even get a ride to the ballpark. That's how little any sane person should care about someone else's private life. 

Finally, their friends began to leave, one by one. Buddy stayed, mainly because Eric had handed him a note asking him to, but also because he actually wanted to spend time with him. So he put up with Hyde's ramblings about communism, he put up with Fez's awkward comments and demeanor, he put up with all of their bullshit, just so he could talk alone with Eric at the end.

And he did. Moments after Donna ruffled Eric's hair and shut the door after her, Eric was on the couch, sitting on the armrest and fidgeting uncontrollably.  
"So, uh, I think I should explain why I reacted like that last year," He started.  
"Don't worry about it man, I get it, you're straight and you like Donna. It's cool with me," Buddy interrupted.  
"What? No, that's not what I meant. I don't think I am. Straight, that is. I did like Donna. But I like you more. And I wasn't disgusted or anything by you kissing me, I was just surprised," Eric explained, sliding down from the armrest of the couch and meeting Buddy at eye level, their knees touching.

"Oh, well that's a relief," Buddy sighed, presumably in relief. Eric scooted closer and was just about to kiss him before-

"ERIC!" His father's voice boomed down the stairs. Eric sighed before souting back.  
"WHAT?"  
"DINNER IS ON IN FIVE, GO WASH YOUR HANDS YOU FILTHY ANIMAL," And with that, they heard the basement door close. 

"I oughta go home, my sister's probably worried about me," Buddy stood up and grabbed his coat from the back of the couch. Eric walked him over to the back door, opened it and gave a ridiculous bow as Buddy went outside. After a split second, Eric grabbed his arm and kissed him.

It felt _good_. It was similar to the last time in the sense that he was kissing the same person, but this time he knew it was coming. He made the choice to kiss him and he did. His hands got tangled in Buddy's soft hair as he pulled him closer. Buddy's arms closed around his waist. There was basically no space between them. 

"That was nice," Buddy said as they pulled apart. Eric agreed, kissing him lightly again.  
"Be my boyfriend?" Eric whispered.  
"Are you sure about this?" Buddy asked.  
"Yes. I really like you, and I don't really care what the others think. Because I want this, and I want it to be with you," Buddy didn't respond, instead he just kissed him again. 

That sent the message pretty well. 

After Buddy drove away, wolf whistles came from behind Eric. Hyde appeared by the window, probably because he'd been standing there that whole time and Eric had been too infatuated to notice.

"Nice one Forman,"  
"Why are you still here, Hyde?"  
"You think I'm gonna pass up an opportunity to eat your mother's roast beef? You're insane man," Hyde laughed loudly and strutted towards the kitchen.

_Fin._

**Author's Note:**

> I blame any and all mistakes on Grammarly and the fact that I haven't technically opened a book in three years.


End file.
